With the publication of the so-called Rents Limitation Ordinance, the price brake comes into force in the two largest cities in the country. From then on, the agreed rents at the start of a new lease in Dresden and Leipzig can be a maximum of ten percent above the local comparative rent (according to the rental index). However, this does not apply to new buildings nor to the first occupation of old buildings after extensive renovation. Even if higher rents have already been paid for the apartment, the tool does not work. The brake on the rental price must be limited to 2025.
The introduction of the rent brake was agreed in the coalition agreement in 2019. The regulation aims to prevent above-average increases in rental prices for new rents in tight real estate markets.
Already in June 2020, the Saxon cabinet had extended the regulation on the reduced cap until 30 June 2025. Existing rents in Dresden and Leipzig can only be increased by a maximum of 15 percent within three years. This regulation was also agreed in the coalition agreement.
“People throw sand in their eyes”
The criticism by real estate associations of the brake on rental prices could not be more acute. Tenor: The vacancy rate is also on the rise again in large cities, which is why the level of rents in Saxony is moderate and, above all, it is not due to the increase in cold rents but to the extreme increase in rental prices. energy, which is socially explosive. “With this tool, which is completely obsolete, the real price factors of housing costs are not addressed at all, but it throws sand in people’s eyes “, criticizes Rainer Seifert, Director of the Association of vdw Sachsen.” The big problem for tenant households currently is not the cold rent, but the ancillary costs “.
A look at vdw Sachsen’s annual statistics for 2021 shows that the vacancy rate in metropolises has not decreased, but has increased by 0.5 percentage points to 5.5 percent. We cannot speak of a sharp increase in rents: the average net rent without heating has gone from € 5.77 to € 5.88 in the big cities in one year. For Saxony as a whole, the average basic rent in 2021 was € 5.36 (2020: € 5.27). “The companies associated with vdw Sachsen have thus continued to keep the basic rent more or less stable”, explains the director of the Seifert association for the segment of non-profit real estate companies.
“Vacancy in Dresden is on the rise”
The Association of Saxon Housing Companies (VSWG) had already stated in its annual report for 2021 in mid-May that the vacancy rate was developing dynamically and at the end of 2021 it had reached a rate of 8.7 per cent (equivalent to 25,929 apartments). “Expressed in absolute figures, this means there are 1,164 more vacant apartments than the previous year. It is surprising that vacancies are increasing almost across the board. Only the city of Leipzig and the old districts of Görlitz and Freiberg were able to reduce their vacancy rates. All other regions, including the cities of Dresden and Chemnitz, recorded increases in 2021 “.
Haus & Grund Sachsen, as an association of small private owners, said: “With average rents of less than 7 euros per square meter, Leipzig and Dresden cannot be compared to Munich, Frankfurt or Stuttgart ”.
“We need a brake on the price of energy”
“What explodes for tenants is not the cold rent, but the ancillary costs “, criticizes the director of the vdw Rainer Seifert. The exorbitant increase in the prices of electricity and heat, for which the real estate sector is not responsible, is currently the greater threat to the affordability of housing. “A brake on the rent aimed at cold rents changes nothing”, clearly criticizes Rainer Seifert. On the other hand, it could happen that in some regions the ancillary costs soon exceed the cold rent. affordable housing, we don’t need a brake on the price of rents, but a brake on the price of energy! ” As a first step, the vdw Sachsen proposes the immediate temporary suspension of the CO2charges because this levy artificially increases energy costs further.
Only Munich has higher heating costs than Dresden
The rental portal Immowelt had already published data on the increase in ancillary costs in March. According to this, Dresden tenants had to pay the second highest amount for heating after Munich. Immowelt’s analysis dates back to 2021 and refers to the 14 largest cities in Germany. On average, residents of a family-friendly 90 square meter apartment would have to spend up to € 117 per month on heating alone. Munich residents should rummage through their pocketbooks for a warm apartment: the average cost of heating of 90 square meters was 117 euros, the rent including heating is therefore 1,764 euros. In Dresden, 108 euros of heating costs would have to be owed. This is the second highest value in the study. Due to the significantly lower basic rent, the total costs of 801 euros would be significantly lower than in the Bavarian state capital. (Red.)
